Zodiac
by Samurai Bebop
Summary: Kaya leaves everything behind to be with the one she's always loved.


**Zodiac - A "Princess Mononoke" fanfiction.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Mononoke. The film was created of Studio Ghibli.**

* * *

The moon was bright this fine summer evening. There was no wind, or movement to be seen. Everything was perfectly still, except for three little girls sneaking around while the rest of the village slept unknowingly. Except for the lady who's eyes can see into one's heart. The Oracle was restless in these times, nightmares drowned her with harbingers of doom. No chanting or praying put any of the enraged gods at ease. The elder secretly hid in the shadow of a wooden column, hoping the heretic finds the one she is looking for.

Pulling the elk to no avail, she wasn't the best with animals. The horned one snorted and spat, unwilling to go with the fallen princess.

"Kaya, you're going to wake someone up," Yuko whispered looking around cautiously.

Continuing to pull relentlessly, Kaya's hands slipped off the ropes and she landed painfully bringing great pain and sorrow to her rear end. Giving up, she decided to go on her own without something to ride. Waving to the two to come with her to the entrance of the village, she left the stable while glaring at the animal that doesn't even deserve to be called an elk. Tip-toeing past the many haystack houses scattered about the village, the night reminded her of a certain day had to say farewell god knows how long ago. It feels like they've been apart for years, yet it's only been few months.

Tales of war-torn pillages and destructive monsters urged children to never leave this village. But it never seemed to scare her. Kaya had always been the strangest child growing up, refusing to follow the norm and even challenged the adult's traditions and ancient philosophies. Though she wasn't the most intellectual, she was definitely the most athletic. Her archery skills rivaled even that of Ashitaka, and her ways with the blade were flawed, but solid.

After meeting a strange old man in the woods, she adopted a new kind of style while using a sword. Kiya utilized erratic movements unpredictable to the mind's eyes. It is completely chaotic, risky, and completely dependent on reflex, which was just her style. What she truly lacked was strength. This was a limitation caused by her strict vegetarian diet.

The three girls arrived at the gate to the outside.

Her other friend Tama was especially scared of stepping out there, especially after her encounter with the boar demon. Kaya unexpectedly grabbed her shoulders and gave her a fright, nearly making her jump from sheer terror. "Don't do that!" she moaned.

"Shhh!" Yuko said before looking down in guilt, covering her eyes with a straw hat. "This must be breaking at least twenty rules."

"Now you're just over-exaggerating," Kaya pestered playfully.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," she said sounding as if she was about to cry. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Yes and no."

She remembered eavesdropping the day he left her behind. Journey to the west, and see with eyes unclouded. There was some uncertainty that his quest may have ended with failure and the curse had not been lifted, but she didn't like thinking of the bad things. If she could come up with one word to describe herself, it'd be hope.

All she brought along with her were the usual blue, summer clothes, a large hat, a backpack full of supplies, and her sheathed sword. She wouldn't have even brought the extra supplies if not for Yuko's thoughtful words of advice. Unlike the last person that left, she forgot to bring along a bow and arrow as an extra means of defending herself, which was quite the bonehead move. Any of her other things weren't of any use to her on the road.

Kaya stepped forward. Once she crossed that line, there was no turning back. She'll be banished, just like her former fiancé.

"Don't forget us," Yuko said, still hiding her teary eyes with the edges of her hat.

"I won't," she said taking one last peek at her best friends. "Don't forget me either."

Running away before shedding any tears as well, Kaya left with a trail of dust following behind her. Tama tried saying goodbye as well, but she's never been good with words. Bitter farewells were just the worst to Kaya. First her parents, then Ashitaka, and now the girls she's known since childhood. Charging into the dark forest, she didn't stop running until a whole hour had passed. The exhaustion overrode the sadness, and once she ran out of fuel she collapsed on the side of the road.

* * *

San rode on the white beast's back as she latched tightly on the fur of her blood brother. Swift as the wind, the wolf dodged tree after tree in search of the demon that's been running amok across the lands. She could feel the beast's heart beat like a drum as the hot summer night gave a nice feeling of adrenaline to them both.

"I can smell it. It's close," he said with a voice like thunder. They had the simple goal of putting the monster out of it's misery. Several of them have strangely begun appearing all over the continent.

She adjusted her fur cape after sensing something odd. "I smell something too. But it is no demon."

The wolf laughed to itself. "There is an encampment of apes nearby. Fecal matter is a possibility."

"No, it's not quite that either," she smirked lifting up her mask and sniffing the air. "But it seems...familiar." San took out a purple crystal dagger that once belonged to an old friend. Eventually she could see faint tracks of a stampeding animal on the dirt, along with disgusting remnants of the curse of hatred. Tree branches cut her cheek as the number of trees increased, limiting their movement greatly.

Their mother once told them, that sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. He gained momentum and jumped high above the trees, seeing a great plains with nothing to block them from engaging in a full-on sprint. While in the air they also noticed a small village close to them as well. Falling on the ground and narrowly dodging a large tree, the wolf created two long black tracks while sliding, raking great piles of dirt with it's feet. It turned towards the direction of the flat land once it regained it's balance. After reaching the plains, their course was much easier to navigate. As their search for the monster approached it's end, the sun began to rise.

"The demon draws near. Prepare yourself, San." The wolf jumped off a steep cliff, falling into the dark forest where the beast lay waiting. A small part of the sun reflected off the spear she wielded as she roared.

All this noise awakened a sleeping princess from her slumber.


End file.
